Yesterday I shared my venture into cutting strips from a large piece of fabric. I ran out of strips on my first time through because I didn’t do what they tell carpenters to do, “Measure twice, cut once”. That was lesson number one today, plenty more on its way.

When cutting fabric to be affixed to a foundation I iron on a fusible web. It’s like double sided tape, but is used on fabric. It allows you to iron one fabric to another with a permanent (for the most part) bond. Even though the pieces are bonded, I still sew the pieces down for a permanent resolution.

Affixing one piece of fabric to another requires peeling the paper off the back. This is often a time of reckoning because under certain circumstances (older fusible web, not enough heat) the fusible web will not stick to the foundation fabric. When that happens, it requires the decision-making tree to kick in and begin a process of asking the big question, “What next?”

Obviously, this is what happens in the fiber world, but in your creative genre the signs and symbols may be different. Think about what may go wrong in your medium, and what actions you take to rectify the situation. It can be one of the most creative avenues available to you. When I first started quilting, my teacher told us never buy more than a half yard of fabric because it will force you to exercise your creative muscles. Don’t get me wrong, the first time I ran out of fabric I felt like I was dropped in the middle of the desert with no compass. I eventually found my way and have progressed to new and more complex forms of separation anxiety.

Truth be told, we all have scary moments in our lives. How we handle it depends on our previous preparation protocols. Think of problem solving in other areas of your life and what your process was to resolve the situation. This is one of those moments when art imitates life.